Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas (Reform) called a government meeting on Monday afternoon to discuss action to be taken after the UK’s EU membership referendum. The meeting also discussed Estonia’s positions for the European Council meeting starting on Tuesday.

Rõivas said to journalists after the meeting that the reaction of the European Union to the British referendum couldn’t be defined by vindictiveness. In his assessment, everything needs to be done now to make cooperation with the UK possible also in the future.

The prime minister stressed that the United Kingdom would remain an important partner in matters of economic, political, and security policy.

Asked about the upcoming meeting of the European Council, Rõivas said he was hoping for Prime Minister David Cameron to answer the question if the UK was withdrawing from its 2017 EU chairmanship or not. This is an important point, as in the case of a withdrawal, Estonia would need to speed up its preparations for its own chairmanship.

“I’m sure we’ll find a reasonable solution,” Rõivas said. “The EU can’t be without leadership. Estonia needs to be ready to be flexible if needed.”